Our Mission.............................
" To share our abilities with astronomy in order to preserve dark starry night skies and a vibrant healthy environment in the California Desert and everywhere else on our Planet for future generations! "

SCDVA, moving the line for dark skies and environmental awareness.

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The World's First & Only Live Astronomy Theater.

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WELCOME

FRIENDS AROUND THE WORLD!

Let's explore our wonderful Universe together!
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What's Next....

Spring is upon us! The night sky brings the constellations of new seasons and we are turning our telescopes to the heavens where tales of old meet with a new story to tell.

Come and help write the story with us!

Draco is rising as the Vernal Equinox settles into the season of flowers and renewed life. It's a time for growth and arrival. It's a time for optimism and assertion.

The evening is likely going to be chilly so bring your warm stuff.

Our fire barrel will be available to ward off the chill and warm up a little and the don't forget your other comfy things and libation, etc.

This is a people only event and so we ask that pets be left at home.

Our full telescope show will be presented and the sky will bring hopeful sights of galaxies, nebulae, stars, constellations, and more...

More will be announced as we get closer to the event so keep an eye on future news.

The Black Hole Collection is very pleased to debut our newest addition with the wonderful painting by SQ Streater....

$5.00 at the door please. Sorry, not pets allowed inside the theater.

Coming Soon.....

SCDVA is joining in as representatives for the International Dark-Sky Association!
For more info, click on the link below.http://rtmcastronomyexpo.org/

SCDVA is pleased to share great news about an important pioneer in the art of astroimaging...
Wally Pacholka 2018 Recipient of
"The G. Bruce Blair Award"
"Pioneering work in Landscape Astrophotography of National Parks"
His award will be presented at this years RTMC eventhttp://www.waastro.org/

OK, March skies are here and with it comes a change of seasons. Spring or as its called the Vernal Equinox with take place at 9:15 am. Pacific Daylight time on March 20th. We will be celebrating the event on Tuesday night with a star party and program telling stories of Draco the famous Dragon that rises completely around the first day of spring. Elsewhere in the sky, the planets will align themselves in various places, most of which will not be visible in the evening March sky. The planetary line-up is listed below.

Neptune will be in conjunction with the Sun beginning on March 4th and remains there for the rest of the month.

Following, not far behind, is Uranus will be visible in the early evening sky, but with increasing difficulty as it approaches its April solar conjunction.

Saturn, continues to travel through the lower portion of the constellation Sagittarius and can be seen low in the Southeast in morning Twilight.

Jupiter will reach its first stationary point in its retrograde motion on the 9th. It then begins moving in retrograde following along the stars of Libra. The waning gibbous moon will pass 4 degrees to the north of Jupiter in the morning of the 7th.

Mars will pass from Scorpius into Sagittarius on the 11th. It will gradually close the gap on Saturn until the two planets are within 1.5 degrees of each other around the 31st.

Venus has already become our evening star and can be seen briefly for about an hour after sunset if you have a clear view of the western horizon.

Following Venus, Mercury will set about 10 minutes later just to the North of due West. By months end Venus will rise higher in the sky and set about an hour later than it did at the beginning of the month. People living with obstructed views of the horizon will seen Venus in all her brilliance as we enter April.

Mercury will be very close to Venus as it sets in the early evening in the constellation Pisces. The pair will remain within five degrees of each other and can be seen in the standard binocular field of view for the first 3 weeks of March.

March 1st - One of 2 Full Moons this Month

According to the Farmers Almanac, "This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as the Full Worm Moon. As the temperature begins to warm and the ground begins to thaw, earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins. The more northern tribes knew this Moon as the Full Crow Moon, when the cawing of crows signaled the end of winter; or the Full Crust Moon, because the snow cover becomes crusted from thawing by day and freezing at night. The Full Sap Moon, marking the time of tapping maple trees, is another variation. To the settlers, it was also known as the Lenten Moon, and was considered to be the last full Moon of winter."

March 5th - Zodiacal Light

Early this evening, those in the Northern Hemisphere can look for this mysterious zodiacal light. As the next two weeks provide a good window for watching the zodiacal light in the west each night as full darkness falls, because the moon is rising later at night now.

Starting in late February and into March, the weeks around the March equinox is the best time of the year to catch this pyramid of light, illuminating the sky in the west as soon as true darkness falls. Look westward about 80 to 120 minutes after sunset.

The zodiacal light is caused by sunlight reflecting off interplanetary dust particles that orbit the sun within the inner solar system. People at mid-northern latitudes can see the zodiacal light after dusk at present because the ecliptic the approximate plane of the solar system is nearly perpendicular to the horizon on March/April evenings.

Maureen Allen in Yankeetown, Florida caught the zodiacal light and

Milky Way in February, 2016.

March 11th - Daylight Savings Time Begins

Daylight Saving Time Begins in the U.S. at 2:00 AM on Sunday, March 11th and ends at 2:00 AM on Sunday, November 4th 2018.

March 13th - Happy Pie Day & Happy Birthday Mr.Einstein

March 17th - Happy St. Patrick's Day

March 20th - Spring Equinox

The first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere will be at 9:15 am. PDT

Also, a Double Shadow Transit on Jupiter can be seen at 21:22 hours. This is where 2 of Jupiter's Moons will cross in front of the planet, when viewed through a telescope appear as 2 black dots on the face of the planet.

Take a trip to our Astronomy Theater, live images captured and displayed on our giant screen. JTAAT a magical place for Concerts, Star Parties, Art Exhibits​, Weddings and Special Events. Special thanks to SCDVA.org and Nasa.